


In the Pre-Dawn Hours

by NeoVenus22



Category: Sanctuary (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-12-26
Updated: 2009-12-26
Packaged: 2017-10-05 07:10:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/39114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeoVenus22/pseuds/NeoVenus22
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Christmas is a time for tradition.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In the Pre-Dawn Hours

Will had tossed off some weak excuse about needing to do some errands, and was both relieved and a little disappointed that Helen let it go without further investigation. The truth was more along the lines of his need to get away from Ashley's uncharacteristically manic appreciation of the impending holidays, including affixing garlands to some of the more normal abnormals' rooms, and cornering Henry with mistletoe at least twice that Will could see. It wasn't that Will was exactly jealous, but it only reminded him of how much he hated being alone for the holidays, something that seemed to keep happening year after year.

So there he was, Christmas Eve, wandering the city streets alone again, a habit he thought he'd gotten rid of by now. And there was another habit coming back to haunt him, or actually, two, as Will's feet led him to Ogden's, and a lone figure stood outside. Kavanaugh's face was obscured slightly by the puff of smoke he pushed between his lips, but the rest of him was illuminated by the primary-colored neon advertising all the things that could rot your liver. Will would recognize him anywhere, those shoulders, that neck, those arms... "Hey."

If Kavanaugh was surprised to see him, it didn't register. "Zimmerman," he said coolly.

"Merry Christmas," offered Will, but he only got a snort of laughter in reply.

"Oh, like you even believe in that holiday bull. If you did, we wouldn't be sitting at this bar every year. I'm surprised you remembered."

He hadn't, but Joe didn't need to know that.

"You want a beer?"

"They're closing up. Cutting a little close to the wire this year."

"Had stuff to do," lied Will. Well, okay, it wasn't entirely a lie; he did have an impossible mountain of things to do, each of his tasks weirder than the last, but that was irrelevant to this.

"Yeah, well," said Joe.

"You wanna go somewhere else?" said Will, glancing inside Ogden's, to where a waitress in a too-small shirt and a Santa hat was wiping off the bar.

"I was just gonna go home."

"You thought you'd wait first?"

Joe shrugged. "Tradition's tradition. Especially when it comes to getting drunk."

"Can't argue with that." Will shuffled and blinked at the snowflakes that had decided to start drifting past the streetlights. "Well. I guess you should get home."

"'You'?" Joe echoed. "Thought this was a group activity."

"You mean you want me to come with you?"

"Yeah, well, tradition's tradition, right?" Joe flashed him a crooked smile, something that was genuine and not one of his usual smirks. Will found himself laughing without knowing why. Maybe it was nice to still have a tradition to come back to, and know that even though everything else in his life had changed so dramatically, this hadn't.

Will brushed some lingering snow off Joe's jacket. "All right, I'm in."

Will didn't know how the rest of the year would go. He didn't even know how tomorrow would go. But there was always tonight.


End file.
